NCJ Number
195539
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 53 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 58-64
Date Published
June 2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper presents a model for listening to the voices of staff and residents in a correctional facility for female offenders.
Abstract
The concept of "voice" in addressing programmatic strengths and needs for juvenile female offenders is critical to establishing ownership, and therefore commitment, to programmatic changes. The model presented in this paper allows girl-serving organizations room to individualize assessment processes and reclaim the power of voice in an oft-silenced population. Data from activities and an assessment tool were used to guide professional development, policy review, curricular change, and to clearly establish the significance of "shared voice" programs for juvenile female offenders. Voice--similar voices, different voices, but equity in voices--was the driving force behind the model of discourse used to generate program assessment in this study. From voice to commitment, from ownership to action, the framework for challenging the cultural context of programming for juvenile female offenders began with discourse and ended in empowerment. Figures, tables, references